OVERVIEW

In Singularis Holdings v Daiwa Capital Markets the Supreme Court recently considered the application of the Quincecare duty, and the circumstances in which the acts of a rogue actor will be attributed to a company.

In the ordinary course of events a bank is required to honour its customer’s instructions and will be liable for any failure to do so. However, the Quincecare duty requires a bank to refuse to exercise a customer’s order where the bank has reasonable grounds to suspect that the order is an attempt to defraud the bank’s corporate customer. In Singularis, the Supreme Court considered potential defences to what would otherwise be a breach of the Quincecare duty (including ex turpi illegality), and when the actions of fraudulent actors – such as a director – can be attributed to a company.

Judgment from the Supreme Court is awaited. Paul Downes QC and Simon Oakes have analysed the proceedings and will seek to anticipate the outcome of the appeal based on judicial interventions and argument during the hearing.